Article © Julian Dignall, uploaded April 01, 1997.

This is another fish that can destroy a good net when attempting to transfer them. Although it can be a bit painful, it is possible to move this fish by hand. This is best practiced with small fish and rubber gloves initially, but seasoned pros can literally pluck these fish from underneath a rock. You must get a finger between each pectoral fin and the catfishes body with your thumb above the head. Due to a reflex driven defensive mechanism the fish will lock its pectoral fins, trapping your fingers! I recall reading that this action is used by the fish when caught to make itself as difficult to swallow as possible. The fish will remain locked to your fingers until you transfer it and submerge it once again when it will release and dart off to the nearest dark refuge.

Whether you transfer the fish by this or more conventional methods you will probably hear why it is called a talking catfish during the transfer. The fish emits a high pitched croaking noise which can be surprisingly loud. The fish achieves this by grinding the base of its pectoral fin bone against its shoulder bone; much like the noise you can make by grinding your teeth, but louder! Most, if not all, of the 80 - 100 members of the family can "talk" in this manner. Amongst these are some true giants (4ft +) which I would very much like to hear.

Copyright information for the images used in this article can be found on the species' full Cat-eLog page.

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	Agamyxis pectinifrons  (Cope, 1870)
Common Names	Spotted Talking Catfish Kammdornwels (Germany), Plettet Tornmalle (Denmark), Spotted Raphael Catfish
Type Locality	Pebas, Peru.
Synonym(s)	Doras pectinifrons
Pronunciation	peck TIN ee frons
Etymology	Agamyxis: From the Greek agan, meaning much, and myxa, meaning mucus; in reference to the mucus produced by the fish.
Articles
Species Information
Size	150mm or 5.9" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	The light coloured spots that make this fish so attractive range from brilliant white to pale yellow in different batches of imports.
Sexing	Unknown.
Habitat Information
Distribution	South America: Amazon River basin. Amazon (click on these areas to find other species found there) Log in to view data on a map.
IUCN Red List Category	Least Concern, range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2020.
pH	6.0 - 7.5
Temperature	20.0-26.0°C or 68-78.8°F (Show species within this range)
Husbandry Information
Feeding	Will eat any food that reaches it. Bloodworm and sinking catfish tablets are best as they can be ''aimed'' at the fishes daytime hide-out. User data.
Furniture	Needs a dark refuge, but smaller individuals will spend the day in dense vegetation just as happily.
Compatibility	A perfect community fish
Suggested Tankmates	Ideal first catfish for a budding aquarist as well as a good "worker" catfish for all levels of community tanks
Breeding	Some details, although sketchy. Seems to be a bubble nest builder or at least lay its eggs on floating vegetation at the water surface.
Breeding Reports	There is no breeding report.
Further Information
Reference	Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society v. 11, pp 568.
Registered Keepers	There are 232 registered keepers, view all "my cats" data.
Wishlists	Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There are 10 wishes to keep this species, see who wants what.
Spotters	Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There are 47 records of this fish being seen, view them all.
Forum BBCode
	Search for A. pectinifrons
	Look up A. pectinifrons on AquaticRepublic.com
	Look up A. pectinifrons on Fishbase
	Look up A. pectinifrons on Encyclopedia of Life
	Look up A. pectinifrons on Global Biodiversity Information Facility
	LFS label creator
Last Update	2020 Sep 19 01:53 (species record created: 1997 Apr 01 11:22)

Back to Catfish of the Month index.